Why Evil Geniuses (EG) Could Win TI7

USA! USA! USA! The crowd cheers as Evil Geniuses hoists the Aegis at The International 2015. Winners of TI5 and many other tournaments, Evil Geniuses is one of the most dominant teams in Dota 2. The top 4 highest earning players in all of esports are all members of Evil Geniuses. Only Universe and Sumail remain on the current squad but Fear and PPD, the other highest earning players, remain in the organization and provide guidance and coaching.

Bet365 Odds For Evil Geniuses Winning It All Are +350

Evil Geniuses and Virtus Pro have the highest odds of winning TI7 according to Bet365. This makes sense because of how often Evil Geniuses rank highly in all tournaments they play in. Since 2016, Evil Geniuses have finished 1st in 8 separate tournaments or qualifiers. The 2 most recent tournaments, EPICENTER 2017 and Manila Masters, EG finished 2nd and 1st.

As a direct invite team, EG stands high above the rest of the Dota 2 world. No tier 2 team can compete against them. Only the top teams like OG, Virtus Pro, and Team Liquid can challenge this elite squad. EG look to be the first team in Dota 2 history to win an International for the second time. How could Evil Geniuses win it all at TI7? In this article we’ll take a look at the most important factors Evil Geniuses have to offer.

Record Against Other Top Teams

Since patch 7.0 EG’s record versus other top teams are:

VS OG 5 wins 3 losses.

VS Team Liquid 2 wins 4 losses.

VS Virtus Pro 2 wins 0 losses.

VS Newbee 8 wins 6 losses.

VS Invictus Gaming 6 wins 5 losses.

Against the other 5 invited teams to TI7, EG has a winning record against every team except Team Liquid. It’s a competitive scene but Evil Geniuses have the confidence to beat any team as they have shown in the past.

The Wonder Kid From Pakistan: Sumail

When you look at this young, skinny kid from Pakistan, the first thing you should think of is dominance. He has been called the Michael Jordan of Dota by an analyst and that is not an exaggeration. Similar to Miracle, Sumail is on everyone’s top player list. The difference between Sumail and the other players on that list is Sumail has won a TI.

There are few players in Dota that can strike fear in the hearts of their enemy like Sumail. Teams have to plan how to beat Sumail because if they don’t, he will rip them apart. Recently, teams have resorted to playing 2 versus 1 in the mid lane with multiple ganks just to slow Sumail down. If left to a 1 on 1 situation, Sumail is known to completely own his opposition.

Having a Michael Jordan-esque player on your team is one way to win games. Sumail has been playing Dota since he was 8 years old so his brain and reality has been shaped by the game. This leads to a significant competitive advantage that is on full display during games and evidenced by his winnings at tournaments. He is the 3rd highest earning esports player in history at only 18 years old. His only weakness? Motivation. This is because he has done so well at such a young age, perhaps he finds it difficult to find motivation to achieve more.

The Captain That Could

When PPD left EG, many wondered how the team could replace one of the greatest captains the game has ever seen. Before PPD joined EG, the team struggled to win tournaments even with top tier talents like Fear and Universe already on the team. Since PPD, EG would go on to win TI5, and many other tournaments. After TI6 it was announced PPD was retiring so who would replace him?

It would be Cr1t, one half of the dominant support duo from OG. The 20-year-old Danish phenom would take over the storied Evil Geniuses franchise as captain. Many doubted Cr1t’s leadership potential but he has proved them all wrong. EG has remained a top 3 team since Cr1t became captain and the team has only shown signs of growth and continued dominance. Cr1t’s next step is to win TI7 and show the world that not only has he replaced PPD, but EG actually upgraded their captain.

The Most Memed

The most memed, most notorious, and most talked about player in the game today is Arteezy. The team’s carry, Artour is a fan favorite and fans love him as much as they meme him. Famous for switching teams from Team Secret to Evil Geniuses often as tournaments happen, it is time for Arteezy to shut the critics up forever.

No one doubts Arteezy’s skills. He is ranked 6th in MMR for all Dota players. Many say MMR is just a number but no noob reaches 9000 MMR. Arteezy has only 1 thing left to prove in his career: win a TI. He is not alone in this journey to win a TI but other people aren’t on Evil Geniuses.

There is less pressure on him to succeed since Sumail is on his team. The play style of EG is to group as 4 with Sumail, while Arteezy split pushes other lanes or farms more for himself. This is a difficult play style to counter since there is so much pressure on the enemy team to deal with Sumail and the team while Arteezy is taking objectives on the other side of the map.

Will Arteezy shut his critics up? No one has faced more criticism or has more to prove than Arteezy. With a TI under his belt, he can shut his critics up forever. No one else has that kind of motivation in the entire Dota scene.

Home Court Advantage

Evil Geniuses are a USA team and with The International being played in Seattle, USA, Evil Geniuses have home court advantage. Even though Universe is the only American on the team, EG is still an American team. Get ready for chants of USA! USA! USA! As EG take the stage to face off against foreign rivals from Europe, China, and all over the world.